What is the cost of an MRI?

Answer:

Answer

The cost of an MRI study can range from $300 to $10000. There is a huge difference in the cost of an MRI study across the country and even city to city. In addition to pricing being very different throughout a region, pricing is also affected by the MRI clinic that you decide to use.



When your doctor orders an MRI, he/she may give you a referral to an MRI clinic in the hospital they are affiliated with an independent MRI facility. The hospital MRI's are usually 4-5 times as expensive as the independent imaging center with no difference in the quality of the scan on most occasions.



I found a center in the Milwaukee market that charges everyone the same price of just $600 for any MRI, no matter what insurance you have. I used them and my doctor was very happy with not only the quality of the scan and radiology reads, but also with the professionalism of the clinic. The name of the MRI Milwaukee Clinic was Smart Choice MRI (www.SmartChoiceMRI.com).


Although Smart Choice MRI has a transparent pricing model where every patient knows how much they are going to be charged, this is very rare across the country and so I would always suggest calling your insurance company and the imaging center you choose to figure out how much the MRI exam is going to cost.

In the Portland, Oregon market, you can check out Sprig Health for the cost and description of MRI at a few locations in town (http://www.sprighealth.com/markets/show/mri). Currently the prices seem to range from $690 to $1190 for MRI.